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Requires the Secretary of the Interior or Commerce to accept and integrate State-collected data when making listing or delisting determinations for threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §1533). The amendment adds a rule that federal decisionmakers must consider state data, but it does not provide funding, deadlines, or detailed procedures for how that data must be submitted or evaluated.
The bill increases reliance on state wildlife data to make federal listing decisions—potentially improving local accuracy and speeding reviews where state monitoring is strong, but risking inconsistent protections and harm to species if state data are incomplete or politically influenced.
State governments and federal wildlife agencies will use state wildlife survey data in listing/delisting decisions, producing more locally accurate and potentially better-informed federal determinations for species.
States with strong monitoring programs and the rural communities they serve may get faster federal assessments and quicker action (or delisting) because state data can accelerate reviews.
Wild species and the communities that depend on them could be harmed if state data undercounts threats, leading to improper delisting or denial of protections and higher long-term recovery costs.
Federal determinations may become more influenced by uneven state data quality or political pressures, risking inconsistent protections across states and governance challenges for federal implementation.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Cynthia M. Lummis · Last progress March 19, 2026